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The Spanish exchange was a seven day trip to a town on the outskirts of Madrid called Las Rozas. Fortunately for us, the weather was lovely and the sun set quite late so the days there were longer, meaning we had lots of time to do things that tourists do best! The host families were amazing and we all would do the trip again if given the chance.

On the first day, we went to Madrid. We took the train which only took 10-15 minutes which was quick. When we got there we went to The Retiro park and The Prado art museum. The parks in Spain are so clean and just felt a lot more “friendly” than the parks local to us which was so nice. We were given lots of free time to eat lunch and do shopping. We also got to see The Royal Palace from the outside but couldn’t go inside that day. As well as the museum we saw lots of sights and we had a good day. On the second day we went to a little village in the mountains called El Escorial, where we got a little bit of shopping time but went to the monastery there for most of the time. The monastery was really interesting, with so much amazing history inside. Although, we discovered a bit too late that we weren't allowed to take photos! After getting back to Las Rozas we went to their school and had some tasty Paella! We also all tried some gazpacho but only Dylan liked it. Over the next few days, the weather continued to be gorgeous. On the Friday, we went to their school and attended some lessons. One of the lessons was dance and we learnt to dance Sevillanas!

On the Saturday, we were given a day to spend with our exchange partners and their families. My particular family (Grace’s) took me to visit the busy main streets of Madrid. Tall buildings towered over me with the hot sun shining through. The difference between the streets of packed Madrid and peaceful Broadstairs took me by absolute surprise! We met with some family friends (who spoke almost fluent English!) and tucked into some sandwich tapas in a popular corner cafe, as well as olives too. For dessert we visited the world famous frozen yogurt shop: LlaoLlao - delicious! Soon after this, the nine of us went to a beautiful Spanish market with: live music; refreshments; and an amazing atmosphere in all! Spain is well - known for its fun and non - stop energy but the big difference between Spain and Broadstairs was the friendliness and welcoming people that constantly made you feel at home - Amazing!